Air inlet valve for internal combustion engines



A Aug. 22, 1950 D. v. sTl-:VKYNOR EIR INLET VALVE EUR INTERNAL-CQMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Nov. 12, i947 2 ShePts-Sheei'l 1 l-NvCN-ron DudleHVek/no@ Siemjnor PE1-Mh w w 2 6 t 35# Krrv w n S T 5 Q Tn l. t Nm @w Se LY Ee N V Ve NH w du n D m RM w om 7 N L am l ma am VCV? wffl 1 vm a DF 2.,/ FN & m nf m w m L Aug. 22, 1950y Flled Nov 12, 1947 Patented Aug. 22, 1950 AIR INLET VALV E FOR INTERNAL.- COBIBUSTION EN GINES Dudieyfvennontsteynor, High Wycombe; England, assigner to Verdikl Limitedg. Wycombe.

England Application November 12 In- G'reatritain 'Ihisr` inventionzrelates; to valvesy for; controlling` the admission, to the induction systems oi.- thx-otitle-controlledi internal-combustion engines: of 1oadvehicles',. oi air. supplementary to that admitted throughv the carcburetter or` other airmetering device. Such valves; which are commonly termed eXtra air inlets, may enable. the fuel comsumption to be. appreciablyf reduced;

neverthelessthey are -litt1e.us edowing tof a nume ber of: disadvantages:

Anexti'aeair' inletzmustzbe;closed when the engineeisirequired; to idle'-, otherwise the mixtuiefis. so weakened that the. engine; stops.. Automatic extra, air inlets; arey known;r in which a: springV loaded valve is cpe-ned. in responsefto increaseA inthe.I depression:v in; tlie` induction system; if" they areuso. adjusted asV tel allow: the engine to. idlesatisfactorily. theireizect' is` negligible. A hand-- controlled valve; intelligently used; aordsfia.

substantial savingin; fuel;v neventheless it? aV V nuisance in. requiring to4 bei. shut whenever the engine is required to: idle.

Ani object; of; this; inventioncis; tozreduce ory avoid;y these disadvantages.

lnotlierfobjectA is: to; prox/tide. an electro-mage:

netically operated valve, suitable for: use-as extra air inlet; on. a. throttlierconti-'olled" internalcombustionv engine.

A Another object is topiovide. inthecombination of a throttle-controlled: internalgfcombustion` en gine Witlranelectric battery-charging; system as;b svociated withtl'ie. engine anelectrically actuated extra air inlet arranged to open andicl'ose auto.` matically in response to thenormal operatior-r;ot` said system,

. Anotlieiobjectis to enable asimple air valve of the unbalanced poppet or likev type. to:` be used! without risk o its being held onto itsA seat1 bythe induction vacuum and without excessive power consumption byv an electroemagnetic actuating device.

Embodiments of, the; invention vvillfbel described by Way of, example and with reference, to. the accompanying drawings, in.y which: Figure l is a side elevation of a-,preieiredfform of electrmmagnetically actuated extra air inlet .in accorda-nce with the invention, partly insection on the line l-l in Figure'Z,

Figure 2 is plan of the sainefvalvc,V in sectionon the line 2 2 in Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a rear elevation. of thersame; valve, as seen from the left-band sidev of; Figure-l,V and with-acasing omitted.`

Figuree'is a section ofv a detail, taken; 4 on.; the line fl--4.L in.Eigure,.;3,.

November 25, 1946l 4 Claims.. (Cl. 12B-424) asa Whole byA 53.'.

Figure 5` is.v af. side.lk elevation. of; parts. appearing;

inatlre upper portiono'B-igul'e` L, but in different; positions,

Figurefis aside, elevationof thesame; valveL f with pa-itsfin: other' diferentpositions,

Eigureshows diagrammaticalliyl an, automobile;

enginefequippedi with the valve shown, infllig-,uresl'. too; and:

Eigurea is an; electric circuit diag-remet part'. of the electrical equipment oi the.; engineshownfv in'. lfi'gure.r 7.

Inv Figure; 'Z tliefirtternalecombustion. engine; [DE hasta-r1;inductioninaicioold-A Hg. fed by ay carburetter.v [Zmovided-with a-tbrottl'e control: |53. Adirect-A current electric; generator M is driven by a: bel-tv transmission l5 from theenginecrankshaitand charges a.. battery i161; through a cut-out. IPLl All the,`- abovefmentioned elements: areA arranged iny the usual Way.. An.. extra air inlet valve., denoted? automobile clasbboardv bulkhead i9: and is connected by a-.flex'ibl'etube 2li toa union 21- opening. into the interior of thevmanifold: lli.

The, valve` 1,8 is provided with an electromag netic actuatingA device which includes a. lJ-piece.` sfteanpedout of sheet magnetic material so as to. form twolimbsy 2'2l and 23.-.'6Fg3u1es 1 13.0.16); Two cof axial solenoid-coils--M and 2,5 are fitted between tnelimbsof the Uepiecefwith their axis; parallel to;` and. midway between these limbs; A. cyline dfi-ical `polemiece: 261s. xed' in thefupperend porti'onc the--coils-.byr a; tubular guidi-321; which connectsf.tlae ,low.er` end-'ot the pelepiece'i'l to.. thel bottomv 25X of the` il-piece andwhicn is integral y witlra valve; body?. 2.9.

A' first armature: is a iiat plate 30 capable of, rocking'A on aliene-edge. 3l on` theflimb 'Z2-'of the U-pieceandra-.damen to rest onthelim-u 23: with its under sniirilace;Y close to the. upper endof the cylindrical pole-piece-v 25. A tension. springv 32', tied between; a. lugI 3.3i on the armature and an afdiustable anchorage 3.41011 the limbj: 22;4 urgesthe free-end or tiiis'armatuite upwards against a stop' 35 formed by one prong-of. aforkesbaped plate 36* riveted to the limb 2:3..

A secondY armature is. constitutedr by: a. plungerA Srl'sli'dablein; the tubular guide 2.1. The lower endA of' the` plunges is of-'iseduced diameter, and formsl ayalve; closurev member 38r cooperating with-.ari annular: seating in the hollow cylindrical valve-body` Thel annular seating. is` a ring- 39- eriibie ttecl in-aacounterbore in the valve body, and; it surrounds; an outlet.. port 413i leading. to a connecten Mf ion thel flexible. tube 2B? comimini'w eating-.wiwitheinducticn.manifoldof the; engine.;

is mounted on `the front. of: the;

An inlet port 42 A contact mounting plate 41 is mounted, on

knife-edges 48 on the limb 22, substantially parallel to and above the armature plate 30, and .is connected to the armature plate by a hairpin spring blade 49 the upper limb of which is riveted to the upper surface of the plate 41 and extends forwards and downwards to form a stop 50 which prevents the plate 41 from passing down beyond the position in which it is parallel to the plate 39. The lower limb of the spring 49 is engaged under a clip 5I riveted to the armature plate 30 whereby the plate 41 is resiliently biased towards the plate 30. VAn insulated contact blade 52 provided with a terminal tag 53 is riveted to the mounting plate 41 and projects beyond the front end of the plate for co-operation with a grounded contact 54 which is beneath the free end of the blade 52 and which is formed by a second prong of the fork-shaped plate 3E.

A tappet 55 is slidable in a longitudinal bore 56 in the cylindrical pole-piece 26 and rests on the plunger 31; the upper end of the tappet passes through an aperture 51 in the armature plate 30 and is adapted to engage the under side of the contact mounting plate 41.

The coil 24 is a low-resistance holding coil and is connected between the generator line terminal 58 (Figure 8) and the battery I6 on the side of the charging cut-out kI1 nearer to the generator. The coil 25 is a boost coil of higher resistance than the holding coil and is connected in series with the contacts 52, 54 and with the contacts ofv the cut-out l1 across the battery. In the example shown in Figures l to 6, in which the diameter of the core 26 is 5/8 inch, for charging rates up to 16 amperes the holding coil 24 may consist of 110 turns of 14-gauge wire, and a boost coil operating at 6 volts may consist of 300 turns of 22-gauge wire. A switch 66 may be provided to short-circuit the holding coil 24. When this switch is in the open position shown in Figure 8, the extra air inlet can operate. When the switch is closed, the extra air inlet remains shut. The eld winding 68 of the generator is energised from the generator line terminal 58 through a constant voltage controller 51 of the usual kind.

The limb 22 is provided withrmounting lugs 59 to which are xed a flanged back plate 6l. A casing 62 nts within the flanges of the plate 6l and is held by screws 53 engaged in lugs 6D on the limb 22. Insulated terminals 64 and 65 mounted on the limb 22 project through notches in the cover elements 6I and 52.

The action is as follows. Figure 5 shows the condition of the device when the engine is idling and the cut-out is open. The switch 56 being open, when the engine is accelerated and the battery charging rate rises to a value determined by the setting of the biasing spring 32 and the position of the stop 35, the flux due to the holding coil 24 causes the armature plate 39 to be attracted to the pole-piece 25, and the contacts 52, 54 are thereby closed and complete the circuit which connects the---boost-coil 25 across the 4 battery; the parts are now in the positions shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3. As the boost coil is energised directly from the battery, the additional excitation due to it is independent of the charging rate at the instant of cutting-in and is sufficient to raise the plunger 31 against therestraint due to the induction vacuum acting on the closure member 38. As the plunger rises, the tappet 55 raises the contact mounting plate 41 and opens the contacts as shown in Figure 6, so that the boost coil 25 is de-energised, the plunger being retained in its raised position by the attraction due to the charging current in the holding coil 24.

The valve continues to admit extra air until the charging current falls to a predetermined value, whereupon the armature plate 30 is raised by its biasing spring 32 and thereafter the plunger 31 drops and closes the air valve. Since the tappet 55 does not drop until after the armature plate 30 has risen, the boost coil 25 is not reenergised.

When the switch 66 is closed, no current ows through the holding coil 24, and the boost-coil circuit remains interrupted at the contacts 52, 54. The valve therefore will not open.

I claim:

1. An electro-magnetically actuated valve including a valve body having a seating, a closure member movable axially of said seating, a:-

solenoid co-axial with said seating and having a holding coil, a boost coil of higher resistance than said holding coil, a plunger armature and a rocking armature, said plunger armature being directly connected with said closure member in such a manner that when said plunger armature is operated it opens the valve, a fixed contact, a'movable contact resiliently mounted on said rocking armature for engagement with said xed contact when said rocking armature is operated, an operative connection between said movable contact and said plunger armature for maintaining said contacts open when said plunger armature is operated, and an electrical connection between one of said contacts and one terminal of said boost coil.

2. An extra air inlet arrangement for use with an internal-combustion engine having a throttlecontrolled induction system, said arrangement comprising the combination of an electric storage battery, a battery-charging generator for driving connection with the engine, an electric circuit including a battery-charging cut-out connectingsaid generator to said battery, an electrically actuated air inlet valve including an electromagnetic actuating device having a holding coil in series in said circuit, a boost coil, contacts, a rst armature capable when operated of closing said contacts and a second armature capable when operated of opening said valve and opening said contacts, and a second electric circuit including said contacts for connecting said boost coil across said battery, said rst armature operating alone in response to energizing of said holding coil due to closing of said cut-out, said second armature operating in response to energizing of said boost coil due to closing of said contacts, and the flux developed by said holding coil being capable of maintaining said second armature in the operated position.

3. An extra air inlet arrangement for use with an internal-combustion engine having a throttlecontrolled induction system, said arrangement comprising the combination of an electric storage battery, a battery-chargingv generator for driving connection with the engine, an electric circuit including a battery-charging cut-out connecting said generator to said battery, an electromagnetically actuated air inlet valve having a holding coil in series in said circuit, a boost coil, contacts for connecting said boost coil across said battery. a rst armature capable when operated of closing said contacts, and a second armature capable when operated of opening said valve and opening said contacts, the valve being so proportioned that, when said holding coil is energized as a result of closing of said cut-out, said rst armature operates and closes said contacts and the resulting increase in energizing of the valve causes the second armature to operate and thereby open the valve and re-open the contacts, said second armature thereupon remaining held in the operated condition by the action of said holding coil.

4. An electromagnetically actuated valve including a valve body having a tubular valve guide, an outlet port co-axial with said guide and surrounded by an annular valve seating, and an inlet port opening into said body between said seating and said guide, a pole piece xed co-axially with said guide at the end thereof 6 remote from said seating, a solenoid coil surrounding said pole piece, a yoke of magnetic material connected by a path of low magnetic reluctance to the end of said pole piece remote from said seating, said yoke having an apertured portion fixed to said valve body between said pole piece and said seating and penetrated by said guide, and a plunger armature slidable in said guide and having one end shaped to form a closure member for cooperation with said seating, said plunger armature being slidable between an unoperated position in which it closes said outlet port and an operated position in which it engages said pole piece to establish a substantially closed solenoid ilux circuit including said pole piece, said yoke and said plunger armature.

DUDLEY VERNON STEYNOR.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Taber Oct. 22, 1935 Number 

